Every year is a gamble for farmers and this year, Mother Nature wasn’t so kind.

The year started out with cooler temperatures pushing into planting time, which resulted in delays across the region. Some beet crops had to be replanted. The rains were also high, which kept fields wet and disrupted operations.

“This whole year has us way behind,” said Val Murray, co-owner of Murraymere Farms on the Willwood.

In the Powell area, the field station reported rainfall accumulations at or above the record from the end of May until mid-July. As of Aug. 1, the station recorded 5.9 inches of rain.

The wettest year prior to this one was 1993 and that year, the rains continued to accumulate well into August. With this year’s weather having been drier since mid-July, the precipitation is below the record, but still about an inch above normal.

The station southwest of Powell shows about the same pattern. As of Aug. 7, the station observed 6.65 inches of total accumulation, which is much closer to the record for that station, which was set last year.

Jeremiah Vardiman, agriculture and horticulture educator with University of Wyoming Extension in Powell, said things on the back end of the season aren’t improving a whole lot.

“Harvests are late at this point,” he said. “We’re behind by a week or several weeks.”

Last week, Murray said barley harvests at that point last year were at about 99 percent. This year, only about 1 percent had been harvested.

Meanwhile, corn didn’t get the heat it needs to grow, which has produced stunted plants.

“It’s sad,” Murray said.

Vardiman said dry beans may get hit the hardest by the weather this year. Some dry bean crops may see heavy yield reductions, and it’s possible some farmers will face total losses.

Nothing is for certain, however, and that goes both ways.

“There’s also some that may be just fine,” Vardiman said, though as of last week, no one had reported any bumper crops to him.

Adding to the cooler temperatures and heavy rains, farmers in the Willwood area also got hit with a hail storm in mid-July that did extensive damage to crops.

“It was devastating,” Murray said.

The deluge was intense, and the hail came down so hard Murray feared it might break windows.

The Murrays had some success in repairing the damage with a fungicide application.

Murray explained the fungicide stops the plant from producing a growth-delaying chemical after a stress event — and it protects against pathogens that enter through the damaged area of the plant.

While the corn and beets didn’t go back to 100 percent, Murray said they showed enormous improvement since the storm.

“It really helped boost” them, she said.

David Northrup, who farms in the same area and was impacted by the storm, also reported a challenging year.

“The crop just didn’t get up and going this year,” he said. Then came the storm, which “beat the heck out of everything,” Northrup said.

The advice he got after the storm was that the fungicide really wouldn’t help, as any fungus would already be in the crop. He didn’t apply any.

Northrup said his beets are looking alright, and his corn wasn’t impacted, but the “barley is trashed.”

Murray said even with the most ideal conditions this fall, they’re not going to see a full recovery.

Vardiman said farmers are still keeping an eye toward fall in hopes of pulling the margins a little wider in this difficult year, but the cooler nights and late afternoon showers are suggesting things on the tail end of the season might not make up for a lot of the rest of the year.

“We’re still waiting to see when Mother Nature is going to close the door on us,” he said.